The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

As Kobe Bryant once said, “There is power in understanding the journey of others to help create your own.”
That’s why the Learning Leader Show exists—to get together and understand the journeys of successful leaders, so that we can better understand our own.
This show is full of stories told by world-class leaders. Personal stories of successes, failures, and lessons learned along the way. Our guests come from diverse backgrounds—some are best-selling authors, others are genius entrepreneurs, and one even made a million dollars wearing t-shirts for a year. My role in this endeavor is to talk to the smartest, most creative, always-learning leaders in the world so that we can learn from them as we each create our own journeys.

Episode 067: Roger Dooley – How To Persuade And Convince Others With Neuromarketing

This episode was absolutely packed full of action oriented takeaways to help us all gain a better understanding of how our brain works to process information. It was an extremely interesting talk on a topic that fascinates me.

Roger Dooley is a speaker and author of Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing, the popular blog Neuromarketing, and Brainy Marketing at Forbes.

He is the founder of Dooley Direct, a marketing consultancy, and co-founded College Confidential, the leading college-bound website. That business was acquired by Hobsons, a unit of UK-based DMGT, where Dooley served as VP Digital Marketing and continues in a consulting role.

Episode 067: Roger Dooley – How To Persuade And Convince Others With Neuromarketing

This was a jam packed episode full of great content. Roger Dooley is leader who is constantly learning in order to help us all live a better life. Who do you know that needs to hear this? Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

Roger Dooley is a speaker and author of Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing, the popular blog Neuromarketing, and Brainy Marketing at Forbes.

He is the founder of Dooley Direct, a marketing consultancy, and co-founded College Confidential, the leading college-bound website. That business was acquired by Hobsons, a unit of UK-based DMGT, where Dooley served as VP Digital Marketing and continues in a consulting role.

Dooley spent years in direct marketing as the co-founder of a successful catalog firm and also was director of corporate planning for a Fortune 1000 company. He has an engineering degree from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from the University of Tennessee.

I would like to thank John Corcoran for introducing me to Judy Robinett. Both John and Judy are such great givers… Always trying to help others and they’ve done so much for me. I was fascinated with Judy. She is incredibly intelligent and is a very deep thinker. It was a joy to get her to put some of those thoughts on tape for this great podcast episode.

Judy Robinett is the author of How to Be a Power Connector: The 5+50+150 Rule (McGraw-Hill, May 2014), a book that provides instant, effective strategies for meeting the people you need to know and bonding with them fast to further your goals and theirs. Robinett is a business thought leader who is known as “the woman with the titanium digital Rolodex.” She has been profiled in Fast Company, Forbes, Venture Beat, Huffington Post, and Bloomberg Businessweek as a sterling example of the new breed of “super connectors” who use their experience and networks to accelerate growth and enhance profitability.

In her more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur and corporate leader, Robinett has served as the CEO of both public and private companies and in management positions at Fortune 500 companies. She has been on the advisory boards of Illuminate Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California; Pereg Ventures, a venture capital firm based in New York; Springboard Enterprises based in Washington, DC; and Women Innovate Mobile (WIM) accelerators based in New York.

I love discussing how we can all become at connecting people. It’s a fascinating topic and Judy is one of the best at it! I really enjoyed speaking with her. Who do you know that needs to hear this? Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

Judy Robinett is the author of How to Be a Power Connector: The 5+50+150 Rule (McGraw-Hill, May 2014), a book that provides instant, effective strategies for meeting the people you need to know and bonding with them fast to further your goals and theirs. Robinett is a business thought leader who is known as “the woman with the titanium digital Rolodex.” She has been profiled in Fast Company, Forbes, Venture Beat, Huffington Post, and Bloomberg Businessweek as a sterling example of the new breed of “super connectors” who use their experience and networks to accelerate growth and enhance profitability.

In her more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur and corporate leader, Robinett has served as the CEO of both public and private companies and in management positions at Fortune 500 companies. She has been on the advisory boards of Illuminate Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California; Pereg Ventures, a venture capital firm based in New York; Springboard Enterprises based in Washington, DC; and Women Innovate Mobile (WIM) accelerators based in New York.

Linda Kaplan Thaler is an incredibly interesting person. She truly understands the importance of an intense focus on continuous improvement. Linda and her team have some massive achievements from a Marketing perspective as well as the work Linda has down as a bestselling author and keynote speaker. We are extremely fortunate to have Linda share her knowledge with us, the loyal listeners of The Learning Leader Show.

Linda Kaplan Thaler is the CEO of Publicis New York and a bestselling author. She has written and composed advertising jingles such as: “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us Kid” (Toys "R" Us); “Kodak Moments” (Eastman Kodak) and “The Heart of Communication” (Bell Atlantic). She is responsible for the “Yes, Yes, Yes” Herbal Essences campaign, and her agency created the well-known Aflac duck advertising. Her most recent book (she wrote along with Robin Koval is titled, “Grit To Great” How perseverance passion, and pluck take you from ordinary to extraordinary.”

This was a jam packed episode full of great content. Linda Kaplan Thaler is leader who is constantly learning in order to help us all live a better life. Who do you know that needs to hear this? Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

Linda Kaplan Thaler (is the CEO of Publicis New York and a bestselling author. She has written and composed advertising jingles such as: “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us Kid” (Toys "R" Us); “Kodak Moments” (Eastman Kodak) and “The Heart of Communication” (Bell Atlantic). She is responsible for the “Yes, Yes, Yes” Herbal Essences campaign, and her agency created the well-known Aflac duck advertising. Her most recent book (she wrote along with Robin Koval is titled, “Grit To Great” How perseverance passion, and pluck take you from ordinary to extraordinary.”

Kevin Lavelle is an incredibly intelligent leader. He truly understands the importance of possessing three qualities as a leader: An overwhelming amount of optimism, an intellectual curiosity, and persistence. We are extremely fortunate to have Kevin share his knowledge with us, the loyal listeners of The Learning Leader Show.

Kevin Lavelle is an American entrepreneur and business executive. He is the founder of Mizzen+Main, a men's clothing brand where he serves as the company's CEO. Kevin was named to the 40 Under 40 list by Dallas Business Journal in 2013. He was also named to Men's Fitness list of Game Changers in 2014. Investors in the company, which makes its products in the United States, include Zappos founder Tony Hsieh's Vegas Tech Fund and Navy SEAL Marcus Lutrell. They have grown 500% year over year!

And most recently, he has partnered with NFL star JJ Watt on an endorsement deal that gives JJ an equity stake in the business.

This was a jam packed episode full of great content. Kevin is leader who is constantly learning in order to help us all live a better life. Who do you know that needs to hear this? Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

Kevin Lavelle is an American entrepreneur and business executive. He is the founder of Mizzen+Main, a men's clothing brand where he serves as the company's CEO. Kevin was named to the 40 Under 40 list by Dallas Business Journal in 2013. He was also named to Men's Fitness list of Game Changers in 2014. Investors in the company, which makes its products in the United States, include Zappos founder Tony Hsieh's Vegas Tech Fund and Navy SEAL Marcus Lutrell. And most recently, he has partnered with NFL star JJ Watt on an endorsement deal that gives JJ an equity stake in the business.

Episode 063: Whitney Johnson – How To Disrupt Yourself To Dare, Dream, and DO Remarkable Things

This was a very interesting conversation with Whitney Johnson... She has an extremely interesting story to tell about how she disrupted herself in order to do something bigger. She was an incredibly successful equity analyst and she quit in order to follow a dream of doing something bigger and helping others.

Whitney Johnson is an investor, speaker, author, and leading thinker on driving innovation through personal disruption. Johnson is the co-founder of Rose Park Advisors, along with Clayton Christensen where they led the seed round for Korea’s Coupang, currently valued at $5+ billion.

Whitney is a frequent contributor and writer, including to the Harvard Business Review, as a LinkedINfluencer, and through other channels. She is the author of two books, Dare, Dream, Do (2012), and the Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work (2015). She is also a prolific speaker and has spoken to audiences of more than 25,000 on her ideas and vision. Johnson is represented by the New Leaf Speakers bureau, along with other thought leaders in business and innovation.

Episode 063: Whitney Johnson – How To Disrupt Yourself To Dare, Dream, and DO Remarkable Things

I love learning from people who bring a new idea to the table… That is what Whitney Johnson has done. She is an extremely interesting and inspiring person. Who do you know that needs to hear this? Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

Whitney Johnson is an investor, speaker, author, and leading thinker on driving innovation through personal disruption. Johnson is the co-founder of Rose Park Advisors, along with Clayton Christensen where they led the seed round for Korea’s Coupang, currently valued at $5+ billion.

Whitney is a frequent contributor and writer, including to the Harvard Business Review, as a LinkedINfluencer, and through other channels. She is the author of two books, Dare, Dream, Do (2012), and the Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work (2015). She is also a prolific speaker and has spoken to audiences of more than 25,000 on her ideas and vision. Johnson is represented by the New Leaf Speakers bureau, along with other thought leaders in business and innovation.

I’ve been fortunate to know Jim Tressel since 2002 when he recruited my younger brother AJ to play football at Ohio State University. He has always been a phenomenal example of what it means to be a servant leader. Always calm, composed, and measured in his approach… He’s someone who I admire a great deal. It was a thrill for me to have this in depth conversation with him.

Jim Tressel a former college football coach who served as head coach of the Youngstown State Penguins from 1986 to 2000 and the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2001 to 2010, winning five national championships between the two schools and 12 “Coach of the Year” awards during his career. He is currently the president of Youngstown State University.

Jim Tressel became the ninth president of Youngstown State University on July 1, 2014.

A native of Northeast Ohio, Tressel graduated from Berea High School in suburban Cleveland in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Education from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1975 and a master’s degree in Education from the University of Akron in 1977. He also received honorary degrees from YSU in 2001 and Baldwin-Wallace in 2003.

He previously was executive vice president for Student Success at the University of Akron, where he was charged with restructuring and leading the efforts of a newly created division dedicated to the academic and career success of students. Tressel’s areas of responsibility included recruitment and admissions, financial aid and career services, advising and adult/transfer services, the military services center and multicultural academic programs. He spent a great deal of time in the Northeast Ohio region, emphasizing the need for top-notch higher education, innovation and collaboration.

Prior to joining the University of Akron, Tressel was head football coach at Ohio State University from 2001 to 2010, where his teams won the national championship in 2002 and seven Big Ten championships and appeared in eight BCS post-season bowl games. As head football coach at YSU from 1986 to 2000, Tressel’s teams won four Division I-AA national championships. He also was executive director of Athletics at YSU from 1994 to 2000.

Chris Hogan is a really interesting leader. I’ve seen him speak to large groups of people on two separate occasions and he always brings a ton of energy to the stage. Mix that with his deep baritone voice and it makes for a unique leader!

A former national champion and all-American football player, Chris Hogan has never backed down from a challenge. But how did he find his way off the gridiron and onto the path of helping others achieve financial peace?

Once his playing days were over, Hogan served as the vice president of a well-respected mortgage company helping clients manage their money and their businesses. In the process, he realized that too many marriages and families were being adversely impacted by financial issues because they could not communicate openly and honestly about money. Hogan realized that the way people were counseled about money had to change. That’s when he met Dave Ramsey.

Today, Hogan helps spread the message of hope and financial peace to audiences across the country. Chris helps people plan for their future and reach their retirement goals through his Retire Inspired Live Events and R:IQ Assessment tool. Hogan works with high profile clients, including business leaders, professional athletes and entertainers, to help them develop financial strategies to generate revenue, protect their wealth, and secure their futures.

“The 7 baby steps: 1) Start an emergency fund 2)Pay off all debt but the house 3) 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings 4) Invest 15% of Household Income Into Retirement 5) College Funding For Children 6)Pay Off Home Early 7) Build Wealth and Give.”

Some Questions I Ask:

What are common characteristics all high performers share?

What are DISC profiles and how do they help you lead?

How did you meet Dave Ramsey?

How do highly demanding people work successfully with relational type people?

If you had only 5 minutes to give financial advice to a person, what would you say?

Why did you feel the need to write the book “Retire Inspired”?

Would you ever branch off away from Dave Ramsey?

How do you handle people who doubt your message and your “haters?”

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The 7 baby steps and how you can implement them into your life

Having a growth mindset and the importance of it

Public speaking preparation skills

The process to become a millionaire

Why it’s bad for a startup to have all “high D’s”

The many different ways to lead

“There are 15,000 to 19,000 people retiring daily. I want to help them.” – Chris Hogan

This episode was absolutely jam packed with great information on a variety of topics. Chris Hogan is definitely a leader who is always striving to improve and help others. Who do you know that needs to hear this? Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

A former national champion and all-American football player, Chris Hogan has never backed down from a challenge. But how did he find his way off the gridiron and onto the path of helping others achieve financial peace?

Once his playing days were over, Hogan served as the vice president of a well-respected mortgage company helping clients manage their money and their businesses. In the process, he realized that too many marriages and families were being adversely impacted by financial issues because they could not communicate openly and honestly about money. Hogan realized that the way people were counseled about money had to change. That’s when he met Dave Ramsey.

Today, Hogan helps spread the message of hope and financial peace to audiences across the country. Chris helps people plan for their future and reach their retirement goals through his Retire Inspired Live Events and R:IQ Assessment tool. Hogan works with high profile clients, including business leaders, professional athletes and entertainers, to help them develop financial strategies to generate revenue, protect their wealth, and secure their futures.

Amy Morin is an incredibly interesting person. She truly understands the importance of being real, being sincere, and being yourself. We are extremely fortunate to have Amy share her knowledge with us, the loyal listeners of The Learning Leader Show.

Amy’s article, “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do,” introduced the world to the bad habits that can keep us from being mentally strong. Her article was reprinted and shared millions of times as it became a viral sensation. Within a few days, her list was republished on Forbes.com, where it became one of their most read articles of all time with 10 million views.

Despite the popularity of her article, very few people knew that her knowledge of mental strength stemmed beyond her expertise as a psychotherapist – it was also personal. Losing her mother, husband, and father-in-law in a short period of time reinforced to her that it’s not enough to have good habits – we also have to avoid the unhealthy pitfalls that can prevent us from reaching our greatest potential.

A lot of people talk about how we should handle failure, I’m curious as to how should we handle success?

How would a person analyze how they think?

How do you prepare for a TED talk?

What does being a learning leader mean to you?

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

Pronoia is a neologism that is defined as the opposite state of mind to paranoia: having the sense that there is a conspiracy that exists to help the person. It is also used to describe a philosophy that the world is set up to secretly benefit people.

How Amy handled the devastating loss of her mom passing away AND then her 26 year old husband tragically dying

This was a jam packed episode full of great content. Amy Morin is a leader who is constantly learning in order to help us all live a better life. Who do you know that needs to hear this? Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

Amy’s article, “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do,” introduced the world to the bad habits that can keep us from being mentally strong. Her article was reprinted and shared millions of times as it became a viral sensation. Within a few days, her list was republished on Forbes.com, where it became one of their most read articles of all time with 10 million views.

Despite the popularity of her article, very few people knew that her knowledge of mental strength stemmed beyond her expertise as a psychotherapist – it was also personal. Losing her mother, husband, and father-in-law in a short period of time reinforced to her that it’s not enough to have good habits – we also have to avoid the unhealthy pitfalls that can prevent us from reaching our greatest potential.

Amy’s bestselling book, also called 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, is being translated into more than 20 languages. Her message resonates with people from athletes to entrepreneurs to parents and people battling depression. Developing mental strength isn’t about acting tough or ignoring your feelings – it’s about learning how to regulate your thoughts, manage your emotions, and behave productively despite your circumstances.

This was an extremely thought provoking conversation with Mark Fainaru-Wada. This is the first time I’ve ever had an investigative reporter on as a guest of The Learning Leader Show. The magnitude of the work that Mark has done is immense. We touched on a number of topics during this conversation from Chris Borland retiring to Cris Carter’s “Fall Guy” comments made at the NFL Rookie Symposium. It was a very enlightening an entertaining conversation.

Mark Fainaru-Wada is an investigative reporter for ESPN. With his colleague Lance Williams, he co-authored the New York Times best-seller “Game of Shadows — Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal That Rocked Professional Sports.” He’s also written (along with his brother Steve Fainaru) “League Of Denial,” which reveals how the NFL, over a period of nearly two decades, sought to cover up and deny mounting evidence of the connection between football and brain damage.

I really enjoyed this great conversation with Mark… I learned a lot about his makeup and his specific process about how he does his great work. Who do you know that needs to hear this? Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

Mark Fainaru-Wada is an investigative reporter for ESPN. With his colleague Lance Williams, he co-authored the New York Times best-seller “Game of Shadows — Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal That Rocked Professional Sports.” He’s also written (along with his brother Steve Fainaru) “League Of Denial,” which reveals how the NFL, over a period of nearly two decades, sought to cover up and deny mounting evidence of the connection between football and brain damage.